Matches (12)
IPL (2)
BAN v IND [W] (1)
SL vs AFG [A-Team] (1)
PAK v WI [W] (1)
County DIV1 (4)
County DIV2 (3)

Tony Lewis

England
Tony Lewis
INTL CAREER: 1972 - 1973

Full Name

Anthony Robert Lewis

Born

July 06, 1938, Uplands, Swansea, Glamorgan, Wales

Age

85y 299d

Batting Style

Right hand Bat

Bowling Style

Legbreak

Other

Commentator

Most people remember Tony Lewis as the smooth, unsullied face of the BBC's Test coverage in the 1990s. But he was also the last man to captain England on Test debut. That was at Delhi in 1972-73, when Lewis got a duck - and then guided England to victory with 70 not out in the second innings on Christmas Day. He added his only Test century at Kanpur later in that series, but played only nine Tests in all. In a long career with Glamorgan he led them by example, both on and off the field, including captaining them to the Championship in 1969. He was also a good rugby player - he was a double Blue - and went on to play club rugby for Neath, Pontypool and Gloucester, before a knee injury forced him to concentrate on his cricket. That knee problem led to him withdrawing from the England side after one Test in 1973, and Glamorgan only offered him a match-by-match contract at the end of that season. He retired in July 1974, and moved effortlessly into the media, as a writer and broadcaster. After a long career with the BBC, including one unfortunate four-letter outburst live on air in 1991, he became president of MCC, and then chairman of the Welsh Tourist Board.
Martin Williamson